By Fred Owens
"I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times." So said Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Everybody cringed. It was TMI back when people didn't call it TMI.
The word is almost archaic -- Lust! Lust! Such a solid Shakespearean word. Lust!
Jimmy
Carter wasn't being challenged or questioned about this. He faced no
accusation or allegation. He volunteered this -- Lust! - because he
wanted people to know that he was more than just a peanut farmer from
Georgia. He was more than just a Sunday School teacher in a Baptist
church.
No, he told us all, even though we really didn't want to know -- that he had lust in his heart.
Jimmy Carter was one of the guys after all.
Lust
was a great word. Today we say objectify, which is an ugly technical
word. I would never objectify a woman. No sex appeal in that, no erotic
tension.
But
lust! How many times did Jimmy Carter want to do the Al Franken thing,
or the Donald Trump thing? He had the same urge. A little grab here or
there. Who's going to mind? The thought ran through his head, and not
just once, but every day, and many times each day, for his whole life
since he was 14 until his old age.
I'm always hearing that men ought to express their feelings -- they shouldn't keep them inside. Express your feelings, they say.
No
way. The prisons are full of men who expressed their feelings. "I got
mad so I shot him." "I stole the car because I wanted to have it." "I
grabbed her because she looked sweet, and maybe I should have asked, but
I didn't."
You
say these guys didn't hear it right. They were not supposed to act out
their feelings, they were supposed to Ver-Ba-Lize them.You know, talk.
But you don't understand. You think that feelings and words just go together naturally, and maybe they do -- for you.
But
some of our feelings don't have words. Not in the English language, not
in Spanish or French. You think talking is magic. It isn't magic, it's
just talking.
Jimmy
Carter managed to stay out of trouble. He was never accused or alleged
or rumored to do anything untoward. There are no women "coming forward"
to tell their story about what he did.
The
women did not come forward to tell their story about what he did
because there was no story and he didn't do it. So he denies nothing
because there is nothing to deny, and he apologizes to no one because
there is no reason to apologize.
But
Jimmy Carter thought about it, he wanted to do it, he came really close
to doing it a few times. That close. And he could have gotten away with
it. That whisp of hair in the air near his face, when she came a little
too close. It would have been so easy, so natural.
Tax reform or tax reform disaster.
I haven't got a clue. There is hardly a man or woman in this country
who is as poorly equipped as I am to discuss this subject.
However,
I am reading the Iliad, in a new translation by Caroline Alexander. My
son Eugene gave this book to me as a gift. His name is Greek. "Eu" means
well or good, and "genos" means birth or identity. Put these two Greek
roots together and you get "eu-genos" or Eugene.
I can understand Homeric Greek, but I cannot decipher the tax code.
The
only reason I bring up these topics is because it gets me off the
question of sexual harassment. This scandal will haunt our halls right
through the Christmas holidays. Some people understand the tax code,
some people understand Homeric Greek, but no one understands sexual
harassment -- there are no experts. Your guess is as good as mine.
The Ten Commandments of Love, as Revised.
1.
No means no. Well, it's supposed to mean no, and when it does mean no,
then it means no. But does it mean "no not now" or "no not ever" ?
2.
Yes means yes. This is the gold star and the green light. But yes has
an expiration date, it does not ever mean yes anytime, in fact it
usually only means yes right now.
3.
The victim is blameless and innocent. It is never her or his fault. No
question of appearance or past behavior will be entertained, This is
one of the new absolutes. Absolutes are somewhat jarring. Absolutes are
not dependent on context. They are very judgmental in fact.
4.
The victim is telling the truth and should be believed. This is not
quite so absolute. The victim may not be totally accurate in
recollection, but the testimony is still credible.
5.
Gender is a social construct, and there is no fundamental difference
between men and women, except when men are behaving badly.
6.
Flirtation and sexual harassment are very like one another, but you're
supposed to know the difference. Here are two examples that can serve to
explain that difference. Think of Jimmy Carter, previously mentioned.
He never flirted or harassed. Not once.
And then think of Bill Clinton. He flirted and harassed all the time. It was a sliding scale.
Bill
Clinton, aka "happy hands", was charming and very popular, He was
elected for two terms. Jimmy Carter was dull and sanctimonious. He only
served for one term, to be replaced by Ronald Reagan who was a lot more
fun.
Oh God, now I'm trapped. I'm a Democrat. I will die a Democrat, but I have to say that the Republicans win this one.
Let's review the results.
Jimmy Carter, never flirted, never harassed, one term.
Bill Clinton, always flirted and sometimes harassed, two terms.
And
the winner -- I hate to say it -- is Ronald Reagan, who did flirt and
had the handsome smile, but he never harassed. So Reagan sets the good
example. Except ketchup is not a vegetable and you have to be past forty
to get that joke.
That's only six commandments. Four more commandments will be issued by the Committee and in due time you will be notified.
Subscription Appeal. I
need the money. I work part-time as a gardener for seven different
customers, but I am getting too old for this kind of work. Most of the
gardeners and landscapers I see in the neighborhood are half my age.
If I had more subscription money, I could get out of gardening and I could do a better job with this newsletter.
Subscription
money helps to maintain Frog Hospital as an independent voice. I lean
left and Democratic, but I don't work for those people. I do not support
any cause. I do not promote an ideology. I only write about what I see
going on.
Send a check for $25 or $50 to Fred Owens, 1105 Veronica Springs RD, Santa Barbara CA 93105 or go to Frog Hospital blog and hit the PayPal button for $25 or $50.
Thanks a lot,
Fred
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